How SK Hynix went from struggling chipmaker to $1 trillion AI giant and why it is coming to Nasdaq

SK Hynix rose from a struggling chipmaker to a $1 trillion AI giant, becoming South Korea's second-most valuable listed company after Samsung Electronics.

SK Hynix's American depositary receipts (ADRs) are set to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on July 10, giving the company access to a larger pool of global investors.

The company was founded in 1983 as Hyundai Electronics Industries, initially focusing on DRAM chips, and was renamed Hynix Semiconductor in 2001 after financial struggles.

SK Hynix's share price has risen roughly 13-fold since early 2025, pushing its market value to about $1 trillion in May, driven by surging demand for HBM memory chips.